Devices for hanging out washing



May 12, 1964 w. STElNER 3,132,745

DEVICES FOR HANGING OUT WASHING Filed Oct. 25, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet l l w 40 8 9 1o 9 May 12, 1964 WVSTEINERv 3,132,745

DEVICES FOR HANGING OUT WASHING Filed Oct. 25, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 u Jamil!!! M y 12, 1964 w STEINER 3,132,745

DEVICES FOR HANGING OUT WASHING Filed Oct. 25, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig.7

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p Fig.10 24 United States Patent ()fiice 3,132,745 Patented May 12, 1964 3,132,745 DEVICES FOR HANGING OUT WASHING Walter Steiner, Winterthur, Switzerland, assignor to Patentand Verwaitungs-A.G. Filed Get. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 147,599 Claims priority, application Germany Feb. 18, 1961 8 Claims. (Cl. 211--119.1)

The present invention relates to clothes-drying devices.

According to this invention such a device is provided in which two laterally spaced bearer bars for a clothes line form parallel first arms having pivot ends for mounting on a support and are connected pivotally together by a connecting bar which extends parallel to a line joining the pivot ends so that the two arms and the bar can move in parallelogram fashion toward and away from the support. Such a device may be opened out, in this parallelogram fashion, to just such an extent as is necessary to take the amount of washing available, so that no space need be wasted. Moreover whether the device be fully or only partly opened out or fully-closed or retracted a clothes line strung between the bearer bars may be kept taut so as then not to sag and thereby present an unsightly appearance and readily become dirty.

Preferably the connecting bar is pivotally connected to the free ends of of the bearer arms. With such an arrangement, the connecting bar is preferably in the form of a channel shaped rail which covers the rest of the device on moving the bars parallelogram fashion to take up the minimum area, i.e. on closing the device. This prevents the clothes line from becoming dirty, a particular advantage if the device is to be used out of doors.

Each bearer arm or bar is advantageously made up of a number of bar-like parts which are pivotally connected together and which are arranged to fold against one another on moving the bars parallelogram fashion to take up the minimum area, and preferably the pivots which connect the bar-like parts of the bearer bars together are themselves connected together by a further connecting bar or bars parallel to the first connecting bar. With such an arrangement, the device does not, in the fully closed condition, lie too far to one side or the other and the device also then comprises two or more parallelogramshaped parts which can be opened and closed independently of one another to take into account the amount of washing available.

Instead of having pivotally connected bar-like parts, the bearer bars may be telescopic, so that they can be pulled out by varying amounts. Thus a pair of laterally spaced second arms can be articulated at the free extremities of the first arms or telescopingly mounted thereon for movement toward and away from the support independently of the first arms.

The device may be fastened on the wall in a room, for example above a bath, or on a post for erection in the open.

Devices according to the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of one device;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of this device in a semi-retracted state;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the left-hand part of the device when retracted;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the part shown in FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a section on the line VV in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a section on the line VI-VI in FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 7 is a plan of a second, telescopically extensible, device in the completely opened state; I

FIGURE 8 is a section through a bearer bar of this second device;

FIGURE 9 shows in plan two of the first devices secured to a common support;

FIGURE 10 is a front elevation corresponding to FIG- URE 9 and showing the support carried on a post; and

FIGURE 11 shows an end view of the device in the retracted state after removal from the post.

In the first embodiment illustrated, two laterally spaced bearer bars 1 for a clothes line 2 are each made up of two pivotally connected arms 1', 1, the corresponding arms having the same length. The first arm 1' adjacent the support or wall 3 are articulately secured to the latter by pivot ends 4, so as to be able to swing sideways. The pivots 5 between the first arms 1' and the second I arms 1" consist of U-sections 6, in which the individual parts 1', 1" are fastened pivotally by pins 7. Connecting bars in the form of rods 8 may also be fastened on the U-sections 6 and connect the corresponding pivots together at the distance corresponding to the distance between the pivot ends 4 these rods 8 lying parallel to a line joining these pivot ends 4. In the two-part embodiment illustrated in FIGURES l to 6 a U-section connecting bar 9 is pivotally connected to the outer parts 1" at 10, the distance between the pivots 10 being equal to the distance between the pivots 5 and between the pivot ends 4, and the bar 9 lying parallel to both the rods 3 and the line joining the pivot ends 4 so that in this way two rectangles are formed which are adapted to be displaced parallelogram-fashion. The pivots 5 are so constructed that the individual arms 1', 1" fold against one another on lateral retraction.

FIGURE 2 shows the two parallelograms both in the semi-retracted state. This figure also shows that subdivision and parallelogram-like foldability enable the device to be opened only partially, while it would be equally well possible to leave the outer parallelogram in the retracted state and to open only the inner parallelogram, or vice-versa. The connecting rod 8 ensures that the individual arms 1', and also the arms 1" always move parallel to one another and that the clothes line 2 remains taut in any position of the device so that it maintains its tension even in the completely retracted state and does not sag down.

The outer connecting bar 9 is in the form of a U-shaped rail so dimensioned that in the retracted state it covers the whole of the rest of the device, so that none of the device apart from the bar 9 can be seen in this state and all the parts, particularly the clothes-line are accommodated therein so as to be completely protected. This condition is shown in FIGURES 3 and 4.

With the same advantage it is also possible to make the side arms from more than two individual bars, so as to form further collapsible parallelograms. In this case it is advantageous for the additional pivots also to be connected together by connecting rods to obtain parallel displacement.

It is suflicient, even when the bearer bars 1 are made up of arms 1', 1" which are pivoted together, to use just a single outer connecting bar to obtain a parallelogramlike displacement of all the parts. With such an arrangement a manual control may need to be exercised on the device during displacement to make the latter parallelogram-like. The single outer bar is advantageously of channel section as before, to cover the rest of the device on retraction.

The cover bar or rail 9 is extended to the right hand side to provide an end 9' such that in the retracted state it also covers the individual parts 1, 1" projecting at the right hand side of the device.

The second device, shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, is fastened on the Wall 12 so as to be hinged by means of 3 pivots 13, so that the device can be folded against the wall in the direction of the arrow A. The bearer arms are telescopic, each being made up of a relatively large first arm 11 and a relatively small second arm 16 which slides within it. The arms 11 are pivotally connected at their outer ends by a connecting bar 14 so that when being folded against the wall the arms 11 always move in parallel relationship to one another and the clothes line 15 (FIGURE 8) stretched between them is always kept taut.

As shown more clearly in FIGURE 8, the arms 11 are constructed as rectangular hollow bars, in which the arm 16 is mounted to slide telescopically. The parts 11 have a flange 19 on the inside of which the clothes line 15 is fixed, whilst the clothes line 18 carried by the part 16 can be inserted and moved through the slot 17. The clothes lines 15 and 18 of the two parts 11 and 16 are thus situated in different planes one above the other since the clothes line 15 is fastened in the bottom edge flange 19 of the part 11. They may of course be fastened instead in the top edge of the slot. To enable the two bearer parts 11, 16 to be telescopically displaced, despite the loop parts of the clothes line 15 situated on the inside of the edge 19, the inner part 16 is provided with a longitudinal recess 20.

At their two outer ends the bearer arms 16 are connected together by a covering connecting bar or rail 21 which is of a length and size such that when the device is in the retracted state against the wall it completely covers the connecting bar 14 and the bearer bars. This outer rail 21 advantageously has U-shaped cross-section open towards the wall, to engage over the connecting bar 14 and the other parts.

When the parts 11, 16 are fully telescoped together, the individual lengths of the clothes lines 15 and 18 are advantageously offset from one another so that if neces sary both clothes lines can then be used for hanging purposes.

If desired the device can be unfolded from the wall while the bearer parts 16 are left retracted in the bearer bars 11. If a larger quantity of washing has to be hung up, the bearer parts 16 may be pulled. out in addition to the actual unfolding of the bearer bars from the wall so that the entire operative surface is available.

The clothes lines 15 and 18 always remain taut, remaining taut irrespective of the degree of telescoping of the parts 11 and 16 and their angular relationship to the wall 12. Thus the clothes lines cannot sag down. The connecting rail 21 covers the whole of the rest of the device when the latter is folded back against the wall with the parts 11, 16 telescoped together.

The two devices shown are so constructed that they can advantageously be fitted to walls above the bath in a bathroom. In each of FIGURES 9 to 11, two devices of the kind shown in FIGURES l to 6 are fastened on opposite sides of a central support or bearer 22 itself detachably fastened to a post 23 so that after the clothes have been dried the bearer 22 can be withdrawn from the post and the two devices completely collapsed as shown in FIG- URE 11. The outer U-shaped connecting bars 9 are folded completely against the central bearer 22 so that the entire clothes line assembly is thus covered and a practically completely closed covering is formed.

The post 23 is provided with a base 24. Alternatively it may have a part for insertion in a socket in the ground.

I claim:

1. In a clothes-drying device, in combination, a substantially horizontally extending support; a pair of laterally spaced parallel first armspivoted to said support for joint swinging motion in a substantially horizontal plane; a first bar parallel to said support and pivotally secured to said first arms at respective junctions for displacement toward and away from said support; a pair of laterally spaced parallel second arms swingable in said plane relatively to said bar at said junctions and displaceable independently of said first arms toward and away from said 1% support; a second bar parallel to said first bar and pivotally secured to said second arms remote from said junctions; and clothes-hanging means spanning said first and second arms.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said second arms are pivotally secured to respective ones of said first arms at said junctions.

3. In a clothes-drying device, in combination, a substantially horizontally extending support; a pair of laterally spaced parallel first arms pivoted to said support for joint swinging motion in a substantially horizontal plane; a first bar parallel to said support and pivotally secured to said first arms'at respective junctions for displacement toward and away from said support; a pair of laterally spaced parallel second arms swingable in said plane relatively to said first bar and to said first arms at said junctions and displaceable independently of said first arms toward and away from said support; a second bar parallel to said first bar pivotally secured to said second arms for joint displacement thereof; and clothes-hanging means spanning said first and second arms.

4. In a clothes-drying device, in combination, a substantially horizontally extending support; a pair of lateral ly spaced first arms pivoted to said support for joint swinging motion in a substantially horizontal plane; a first bar parallel to said support and pivotally secured to said first arms for rotation in one sense relative to said bar at respective junctions therewith whereby said arms are displaceable toward and away from said support; a pair of laterally spaced parallel second arms pivotally secured to said first bar at said junctions for swinging motion relative to said first bar in the opposite sense, said second arms being jointly displaceable independently of said first arms toward and away from said support; a second bar parallel to said first bar pivotally secured tosaid second arms for joint displacement thereof; and clotheshanging means spanning said first and second arms.

5. In a clothes-drying device, in combination, a substantially horizontally extending support; a pair of laterally spaced parallel first arms pivoted to said support for joint swinging motion in a substantially horizontal plane; a first bar parallel to said support and pivotally secured to said first arms at respective junctions for displacement toward and away from said support; a pair of laterally spaced parallel second arms swingable in said plane relatively to said first bar at said junctions and displaceable independently of said first arms toward and away from said support; a hollow second bar parallel to said first bar pivotally secured to said second arms for joint displacement thereof, said second bar lying substantially in said plane and being formed with a channel opening in the direction of said support for receiving said first bar and said arms in a closed condition of said device with said second bar proximal to said support.

6-. In a clothes-drying device, in combination, a stand having a substantially horizontally extending support member; a pair of laterally spaced parallel first arms pivoted to said support member along horizontally opposite sides thereof for joint swinging motion in a substantially horizontal plane; respective first bars parallel to said support and pivotally secured to the first arms of each of said pairs at respective junctions for displacement toward and away from said support member; and respective clothes-hanging means spanning the arms of each of said pairs.

7. In a clothes-drying device, in combination, a stand having a substantially horizontally extending support member; a pair of laterally spaced parallel first arms pivoted to said support member along horizontally opposite sides thereof for joint swinging motion in a substantially horizontal plane; respective first bars parallel to said support and pivotally secured to the first arms of each of said pairs at respective junctions for displacement toward and away from said support member; a respective pair of laterally spaced parallel second arms swin-gable relatively to each of said first bars at said junctions and displaceable independently of said first arms toward and aWay from said support member; and respective clotheshanging means spanning the arms of each of said pairs.

8. In a clothes-drying device, in combination, a stand having a substantially horizontally extending support member; a pair of laterally spaced parallel first arms pivoted to said support member along horizontally opposite sides thereof for joint swinging motion in a substantially horizontal plane; respective first bars parallel to said support and pivotally secured to the first arms of each of said pairs at respective junctions for displacement toward and away from said support member; a respective pair of laterally spaced parallel second arms swingable relatively to each of the respective first bars at said junctions and displaceable independently of said first arms toward and away from said support member; and a respectiye second bar parallel to each of said first bars and pivot-ally secured to the second arm of each of said pairs for joint displacement thereof toward and away from said support member; and respective clothes-hanging means spanning each of said pairs of first and second arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 611,503 Parker Sept. 27, 1898 1,005,820 Essex Oct. 17, 1911 1,109,953 Arnold Sept. 8, 1914 1,493,264 Hennessy May 6, 1924 2,206,174 Falk July 2, 1940 2,451,674 J-Iade Oct. 19, 1948 2,474,436 Pestyner June 2-8, 1949 2,889,052 ONeil-l June 2, 1959 

1. IN A CLOTHES-DRYING DEVICE, IN COMBINATION, A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING SUPPORT; A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED PARALLEL FIRST ARMS PIVOTED TO SAID SUPPORT FOR JOINT SWINGING MOTION IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE; A FIRST BAR PARALLEL TO SAID SUPPORT AND PIVOTALLY SECURED TO SAID FIRST ARMS AT RESPECTIVE JUNCTIONS FOR DISPLACEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SUPPORT; A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED PARALLEL SECOND ARMS SWINGABLE IN SAID PLANE RELATIVELY TO SAID BAR AT SAID JUNCTIONS AND DISPLACEABLE INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID FIRST ARMS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SUPPORT; A SECOND BAR PARALLEL TO SAID FIRST BAR AND PIVOTALLY SECURED TO SAID SECOND ARMS REMOTE FROM SAID JUNCTIONS; AND CLOTHES-HANGING MEANS SPANNING SAID FIRST AND SECOND ARMS. 